Cousin Marriage in Islamic Law: Difference between revisions

From WikiIslam, the online resource on Islam
Jump to navigation Jump to search
[checked revision][checked revision]
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(17 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''Cousin marriage''' in [[Islam]] is a [[marriage]] to a person who shares a fairly recent ancestor (within a few generations). In some communities cousin marriages are encouraged and in others they are stigmatized. Cousin marriages are illegal and prohibited in some countries.<ref>"The Surprising Truth About Cousins and Marriage". 14 February 2014.</ref><ref>Paul, Diane B.; Spencer, Hamish G. (23 December 2008). ""It's Ok, We're Not Cousins by Blood": The Cousin Marriage Controversy in Historical Perspective". ''PLOS Biology''. '''6''' (12): 2627–30. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060320. PMC 2605922. <nowiki>PMID 19108607</nowiki>.</ref> Children of cousin marriages may have increased risk of genetic disorders and child mortality.<ref>Bittles 1994, p. 790</ref><ref>Bittles, A.H. (May 2001). "A Background Background Summary of Consaguineous marriage" (PDF). consang.net consang.net. Retrieved 19 January 2010. Bittles, A.H.; Neel, J.V. (1994). "The costs of human inbreeding and their implications for variation at the DNA level". ''Nature Genetics''. '''8''' (2): 117–121</ref> Cousin marriages has been the norm throughout all Islamic recorded history<ref>Goody, Marriage and the Family in Europe</ref> and remains so in Islamic world today.
{{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=4|Content=3|Language=4|References=4}}
[[File:Ali x fatimah.jpg|thumb|319x319px|Early painting depicting Ali's wedding to his cousin Fatimah (Muhammad's daughter).]]
'''Cousin marriages''', including those between first cousins, are permitted by [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|Islamic law]] and [[scriptures]] and were practiced by [[Muhammad ibn Abdullah|Muhammad]] himself as well as [[Sahabah|his companions]]. Muhammad's practice of cousin marriage, in addition to cementing the legality of the practice, renders the practice a ''[[sunnah]]'', or a good deed worthy of commendation, given Muhammad's status as ''al-insan al-kamal'' (lit. 'the perfect man'). Cousin marriages have been the common throughout Islamic history<ref>Goody, Marriage and the Family in Europe</ref> and remain so in Muslim-majority nations today, comprising a significant percentage of the total population of these nations.


==Scripture==
Children born of cousin marriages face an increased risk of genetic disorders and childhood mortality<ref>Bittles, Alan H.; et al. (10 May 1991). "Reproductive Behavior and Health in Consanguineous Marriages". Science. 252 (5007): 789–794. doi:10.1126/science.2028254. PMID 2028254, p. 790</ref><ref>Bittles, A.H. (May 2001). "A Background Background Summary of Consaguineous marriage" (PDF). consang.net consang.net. Retrieved 19 January 2010. citing Bittles, A.H.; Neel, J.V. (1994). "The costs of human inbreeding and their implications for variation at the DNA level". ''Nature Genetics''. '''8''' (2): 117–121</ref> and are thus prohibited in some countries.<ref>"The Surprising Truth About Cousins and Marriage". 14 February 2014.</ref><ref>Paul, Diane B.; Spencer, Hamish G. (23 December 2008). ""It's Ok, We're Not Cousins by Blood": The Cousin Marriage Controversy in Historical Perspective". ''PLOS Biology''. '''6''' (12): 2627–30. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060320. PMC 2605922. <nowiki>PMID 19108607</nowiki>.</ref> One study estimated infant mortality at 12.7 percent for married double first cousins, 7.9 percent for first cousins, 9.2 percent for first cousins once removed/double second cousins, 6.9 percent for second cousins, and 5.1 percent among non-consanguineous progeny. Among double first cousin progeny, 41.2 percent of pre-reproductive deaths were associated with the expression of detrimental recessive genes, with equivalent values of 26.0, 14.9, and 8.1 percent for first cousins, first cousins once removed/double second cousins, and second cousins respectively.


Due to [[#History|the actions]] of Prophet Muhammad and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, marriage between cousins is explicitly allowed and even [[Uswa Hasana|encouraged]] in Islam. The Qur'an itself does not discourage or forbid this practice in any way. In fact it implicitly allows it, as seen in [[Surah|chapter]] 4 verse 23<ref>Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful;-
There is an increasing awareness in the Muslim world of the risks of multi-generational cousin marriage, and an increasing number of voices calling for it to be discouraged (even if it remains permitted).


==Cousin marriage in scripture==


Quran 4:23</ref>
===Quran===
{{Quran|4|23}}, in leaving out mention of one's cousins in its list of those relatives to whom marriage is prohibited, permits cousin marriage.
{{Quote|{{Quran|4|34}}|Forbidden to you (are) your mothers and your daughters and your sisters and your father's sisters and your mother's sisters and daughters (of) brothers, and daughters (of) sisters and (the) mothers who nursed you and your sisters from the nursing and mothers (of) your wives and your step daughters who (are) in your guardianship of your women whom you had relations with them, but if not you had relations with them, then (there is) no sin on you. And wives (of) your sons, those who (are) from your loins and that you gather together [between] two sisters except what has passed before. Indeed, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.}}
{{Quran|33|50}}, in discussing the exclusive marital rights of the prophet Muhammad, explicitly permits him to marry his first cousins.{{Quote|{{Quran|33|50}}|O Prophet! Indeed, We [We] have made lawful to you your wives (to) whom you have given their bridal money and whom you rightfully possess from those (whom) Allah has given to you, and (the) daughters (of) your paternal uncles and (the) daughters (of) your paternal aunts and (the) daughters (of) your maternal uncles and (the) daughters (of) your maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and a woman believing if she gives herself to the Prophet if wishes the Prophet to marry her - only for you, excluding the believers. Certainly, We know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and whom they rightfully possess, that not should be on you any discomfort. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful}}
===Hadith and sirah===


So everyone besides these relatives named can be married. Such marriages in Muslim majority countries are often preferred and even encouraged in some regions. This is in contrast with [[China]], [[India]], most of the [[United States]] and some other nations where cousin-marriage is against the law and regarded as incest.
====Muhammad====


Even though there is some debate on this issue, scientists tend to agree it is genetically unhealthy. There are other problems with cousin marriages.
Muhammad married his cousin [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammads Wives and Concubines#Zainab_bint_Jash|Zaynab bint Jahsh]] who, in addition to being the daughter of Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib (a sister of Muhammad's father), was also the former wife of his adopted son, Zayd ibn Harith. The marriage proved immensely controversial - not because Zaynab and Muhammad were cousins (cousin marriages being fairly common throughout much of the ancient world), but because Zaynab had been previously been married to Muhammad's adopted son. The controversy was of such scale that Muhammad ultimately produced revelation in the Quran addressing the matter, absolving him of any proposed guilt.
==History==


===Muhammad===
{{Quote|{{quran|33|37}}|And when you said to the one, Allah bestowed favor on him and you bestowed favor on him, "Keep to yourself your wife and fear Allah." But you concealed within yourself what Allah (was to) disclose. And you fear the people, while Allah has more right that you (should) fear Him. So when ended Zaid from her necessary (formalities), We married her to you so that not there be on the believers any discomfort concerning the wives (of) their adopted sons when they have ended from them necessary (formalities). And is (the) Command (of) Allah accomplished.}}


Prophet [[Muhammad]] himself married cousins, as he did with [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammads Wives and Concubines#Zainab_bint_Jash|Zaynab bint Jahsh]], who was not only the daughter of Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib, one of his father's sisters,<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; {{Tabari|8|p. 4}}; {{Tabari|39|p. 180}}; cf Guillaume/Ishaq 3; Maududi (1967), Tafhimul Quran, Chapter Al Ahzab</ref> but was also divorced from a marriage with Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd ibn Haritha. It was this last issue that caused the most controversy, with traditional Arab norms at the time being opposed, though not the Qur'an (Sura Al-Ahzab 33:37).<ref>{{Quran|33|37}}</ref>  
According to Ibn Sa'd, after Zaynab's marriage to  Zayd, Muhammad went to visit him, but instead encountered a hastily clad Zaynab. Though he did not enter the house, the sight of her pleased him. [[Tabari]] states that Zaynab was only wearing a single slip and that the wind pushed away a curtain when Muhammad entered, revealing her 'uncovered'. Thereafter, Zayd no longer found her attractive and thought of proposing divorce, but Muhammad told him to keep her. Eventually, however, Zayd did divorce her. After this, Muhammad and Zaynab were wed.<ref>Bewley/Saad 8:72; [[The History of al-Tabari|Al-Tabari,]] [[The History of al-Tabari#Volume%20VIII:%20The%20Victory%20of%20Islam|Vol. 8, p. 4]]; [[The History of al-Tabari|Al-Tabari,]] [[The History of al-Tabari#Volume%20XXXIX:%20Biographies%20of%20the%20Prophet.27s%20Companions%20and%20Their%20Successors|Vol. 39, p. 180]]; cf. Guillaume/Ishaq 3; Maududi (1967), ''Tafhimul Quran'', "''Al Ahzab''"</ref>  


According to Ibn Sa'd, after Zaynab's marriage to his adopted son Zayd, Muhammad went to visit him, but instead found a hastily clad Zaynab. Though he did not enter the house, the sight of her pleased him. [[Tabari]] states that Zaynab was only wearing a single slip, and the wind pushed away a curtain when Muhammad entered, revealing her "uncovered." Thereafter Zayd no longer found her attractive and thought of proposing divorce, but Muhammad told him to keep her. Eventually, however, Zayd did divorce her.
====Ali====


===Ali===
In addition to marrying a first cousin himself, Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his first cousin, [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], who would later become the fourth [[Rashidun Caliphs|Rightly-Guided]] [[Caliph]] of Islam.


Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who would later go on to become the fourth Rightly-guided [[Caliph]] of Islam.
====Umar====


===Umar===
The second Rightly-Guided Caliph, [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]], also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl.<ref>History of the Prophets and Kings 4/ 199 by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari</ref><ref>al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah 6/352 by ibn Kathir</ref>


The second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl.<ref>History of the Prophets and Kings 4/ 199 by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari</ref><ref>al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah 6/352 by ibn Kathir</ref>
==In the Islamic world today==
The British geneticist, Professor Steve Jones, giving The John Maddox Lecture at the 2011 Hay Festival had stated in relation to inbreeding in the Islamic world, "It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually [genetically] closer than marrying your cousin."<ref>Jonathan Wynne-Jones - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/8544359/Hay-Festival-2011-Professor-risks-political-storm-over-Muslim-inbreeding.html|2=2011-05-31}} Hay Festival 2011: Professor risks political storm over Muslim 'inbreeding’] - The Telegraph, May 29, 2011</ref>


<br />
===Pakistan===
Cousin marriage has been common in Pakistan for generations. According to professor Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen from South Danish University, the current rate is about 70%.<ref>[http://fpn.dk/liv/krop_valvare/article1616165.ece Flere dødfødsler blandt indvandrere (Danish language)] - fpn.dk,February 27, 2009</ref>


==Relevant Quotes==
====Pakistani emigrants====
{{Quote|{{Quran|4|23}}|Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:- Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful;-}}{{Quote|{{Quran|33|50}}|O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.}}
A BBC report on Pakistanis in the United Kingdom finds that 55% of them marry a first cousin. Many of the children of such consanguine marriages themselves marry cousins. The report states that these children born from repeated generations of first-cousin marriages are 13 times more likely than the general population to suffer from genetic disorders. Nearly one in ten of the children born of these marriages in Birmingham either dies in infancy or develops a serious disability. The BBC report also states that Pakistani-Britons, who account for some 3% of all births in the UK, produce "just under a third" of all British children with genetic illnesses.<ref>Justin Rowlatt - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4442010.stm The risks of cousin marriage] – BBC News, November 15, 2005</ref>
<br />
==Science and Statistics==


From a biological point of view it becomes clear that first cousin marriage is not recommended because close relatives have a higher than normal consanguinity which means an increased chance of sharing genes for recessive traits. With this high amount of shared DNA, you have a higher risk of birth defects in a baby. Even if cousin marriages are not performed, you can still have such genetic defects in populations where there is a restricted social structure.
Multiple scientific studies show that the mean (average) perinatal mortality in the Pakistani community of 15.7 per thousand significantly exceeds that of the indigenous population and all other ethnic groups in Britain. Congenital anomalies also account for 41 percent of all British Pakistani infant deaths.<ref>Alan H. Bittles - [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2137601 The Role and Significance of Consanguinity as a Demographic Variable] - JSTOR</ref><ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-06/15/content_895516.htm Polygamist community faces genetic disorder] – China Daily, June 15, 2007</ref><ref>John Dougherty - [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/1 Forbidden Fruit] – Phoenix New Times, December 29, 2005</ref><ref>A. H. Bittles and M. L. Black - [http://www.pnas.org/content/107/suppl.1/1779.full Consanguinity, human evolution, and complex diseases] – PNAS, June 25, 2009</ref>


In [[Pakistan]], where there has been cousin marriage for generations, and according to professor Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen from South Danish University, the current rate is 70%,<ref>[http://fpn.dk/liv/krop_valvare/article1616165.ece Flere dødfødsler blandt indvandrere (Danish language)] - fpn.dk,February 27, 2009</ref> one study estimated infant mortality at 12.7 percent for married double first cousins, 7.9 percent for first cousins, 9.2 percent for first cousins once removed/double second cousins, 6.9 percent for second cousins, and 5.1 percent among non-consanguineous progeny. Among double first cousin progeny, 41.2 percent of pre-reproductive deaths were associated with the expression of detrimental recessive genes, with equivalent values of 26.0, 14.9, and 8.1 percent for first cousins, first cousins once removed/double second cousins, and second cousins respectively. 
===Turkey===
In Turkey the percentage of total marriages that are contracted between cousins is between 25-30 percent.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://fpn.dk/liv/krop_valvare/article1616165.ece|2=2012-03-15}} More stillbirths among immigrants] - Jyllands-Posten, February 27, 2009</ref>


A BBC report discussed Pakistanis in the [[United Kingdom]], 55% of whom marry a first cousin. Given the high rate of such marriages, many children come from repeat generations of first-cousin marriages. The report states that these children are 13 times more likely than the general population to produce children with genetic disorders, and one in ten children of first-cousin marriages in Birmingham either dies in infancy or develops a serious disability.<ref>Justin Rowlatt - [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/4442010.stm The risks of cousin marriage] – BBC News, November 15, 2005</ref>
===Arab nations===
 
Statistical research on Arab countries shows that up to 34% of all marriages in Algiers are consanguine (blood related), 46% in Bahrain, 33% in Egypt, 80% in Nubia (southern Egypt), 60% in Iraq, 64% in Jordan, 64% in Kuwait, 42% in Lebanon, 48% in Libya, 47% in Mauritania, 54% in Qatar, 67% in Saudi Arabia, 63% in Sudan, 40% in Syria, 39% in Tunisia, 54% in the United Arabic Emirates and 45% in Yemen.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/6/1/17/table/T1|2=2012-03-15}} Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs] - Tadmouri  et al. ''Reproductive Health'' 2009 6:17</ref><ref>[http://europenews.dk/en/node/34368 Muslim Inbreeding: Impacts on intelligence, sanity, health and society] - Nicolai Sennels - EuropeNews, August 9, 2010</ref>
The BBC also states that Pakistani-Britons, who account for some 3% of all births in the UK, produce "just under a third" of all British children with genetic illnesses. Published studies show that mean perinatal mortality in the Pakistani community of 15.7 per thousand significantly exceeds that in the indigenous population and all other ethnic groups in Britain. Congenital anomalies account for 41 percent of all British Pakistani infant deaths.<ref>Alan H. Bittles - [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2137601 The Role and Significance of Consanguinity as a Demographic Variable] - JSTOR</ref><ref>[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-06/15/content_895516.htm Polygamist community faces genetic disorder] – China Daily, June 15, 2007</ref><ref>John Dougherty - [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2005-12-29/news/forbidden-fruit/1 Forbidden Fruit] – Phoenix New Times, December 29,  2005</ref><ref>A. H. Bittles and M. L. Black - [http://www.pnas.org/content/107/suppl.1/1779.full Consanguinity, human evolution, and complex diseases] – PNAS, June 25, 2009</ref>
 
Worldwide, it has been estimated that almost half of all Muslims are inbred:
 
{{Quote||A rough estimate shows that close to half of all Muslims in the world are inbred: In Pakistan, 70 percent of all marriages are between first cousins (so-called "consanguinity") and in Turkey the amount is between 25-30 percent.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://fpn.dk/liv/krop_valvare/article1616165.ece|2=2012-03-15}} More stillbirths among immigrants] - Jyllands-Posten, February 27, 2009</ref><BR><BR>
 
Statistical research on Arabic countries shows that up to 34 percent of all marriages in Algiers are consanguine (blood related), 46 percent in Bahrain, 33 percent in Egypt, 80 percent in Nubia (southern area in Egypt), 60 percent in Iraq, 64 percent in Jordan, 64 percent in Kuwait, 42 percent in Lebanon, 48 percent in Libya, 47 percent in Mauritania, 54 percent in Qatar, 67 percent in Saudi Arabia, 63 percent in Sudan, 40 percent in Syria, 39 percent in Tunisia, 54 percent in the United Arabic Emirates and 45 percent in Yemen.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content/6/1/17/table/T1|2=2012-03-15}} Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs] - Tadmouri  et al. ''Reproductive Health'' 2009 6:17  doi:10.1186/1742-4755-6-17</ref><ref>Nicolai Sennels - [http://europenews.dk/en/node/34368 Muslim Inbreeding: Impacts on intelligence, sanity, health and society] - EuropeNews, August 9, 2010</ref>}}
 
The British geneticist, Professor Steve Jones, giving The John Maddox Lecture at the 2011 Hay Festival had stated in relation to Muslim inbreeding, "It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually [genetically] closer than marrying your cousin."<ref>Jonathan Wynne-Jones - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/8544359/Hay-Festival-2011-Professor-risks-political-storm-over-Muslim-inbreeding.html|2=2011-05-31}} Hay Festival 2011: Professor risks political storm over Muslim 'inbreeding’] - The Telegraph, May 29, 2011</ref>
 
{{Core Science}}


==See Also==
==See Also==


{{Hub4|Health|Health}}
*[[Marriage]]
 
*[[Health]]
{{Hub4|Marriage|Marriage}}


==External Links==
==External Links==
Line 65: Line 60:
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


[[Category:Islam and Women]]
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Islam and Science]]
[[Category:Health]]
[[Category:Marriage]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Reproductive sciences]]
[[Category:Shariah (Islamic Law)]]
[[Category:Hygiene]]
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]

Latest revision as of 00:14, 29 January 2023

Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination

This article or section is being renovated.

Lead = 2 / 4
Structure = 4 / 4
Content = 3 / 4
Language = 4 / 4
References = 4 / 4
Lead
2 / 4
 Structure
4 / 4
 Content
3 / 4
 Language
4 / 4
 References
4 / 4


Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination
Early painting depicting Ali's wedding to his cousin Fatimah (Muhammad's daughter).

Cousin marriages, including those between first cousins, are permitted by Islamic law and scriptures and were practiced by Muhammad himself as well as his companions. Muhammad's practice of cousin marriage, in addition to cementing the legality of the practice, renders the practice a sunnah, or a good deed worthy of commendation, given Muhammad's status as al-insan al-kamal (lit. 'the perfect man'). Cousin marriages have been the common throughout Islamic history[1] and remain so in Muslim-majority nations today, comprising a significant percentage of the total population of these nations.

Children born of cousin marriages face an increased risk of genetic disorders and childhood mortality[2][3] and are thus prohibited in some countries.[4][5] One study estimated infant mortality at 12.7 percent for married double first cousins, 7.9 percent for first cousins, 9.2 percent for first cousins once removed/double second cousins, 6.9 percent for second cousins, and 5.1 percent among non-consanguineous progeny. Among double first cousin progeny, 41.2 percent of pre-reproductive deaths were associated with the expression of detrimental recessive genes, with equivalent values of 26.0, 14.9, and 8.1 percent for first cousins, first cousins once removed/double second cousins, and second cousins respectively.

There is an increasing awareness in the Muslim world of the risks of multi-generational cousin marriage, and an increasing number of voices calling for it to be discouraged (even if it remains permitted).

Cousin marriage in scripture

Quran

Quran 4:23, in leaving out mention of one's cousins in its list of those relatives to whom marriage is prohibited, permits cousin marriage.

Forbidden to you (are) your mothers and your daughters and your sisters and your father's sisters and your mother's sisters and daughters (of) brothers, and daughters (of) sisters and (the) mothers who nursed you and your sisters from the nursing and mothers (of) your wives and your step daughters who (are) in your guardianship of your women whom you had relations with them, but if not you had relations with them, then (there is) no sin on you. And wives (of) your sons, those who (are) from your loins and that you gather together [between] two sisters except what has passed before. Indeed, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.
Quran 4:34

Quran 33:50, in discussing the exclusive marital rights of the prophet Muhammad, explicitly permits him to marry his first cousins.

O Prophet! Indeed, We [We] have made lawful to you your wives (to) whom you have given their bridal money and whom you rightfully possess from those (whom) Allah has given to you, and (the) daughters (of) your paternal uncles and (the) daughters (of) your paternal aunts and (the) daughters (of) your maternal uncles and (the) daughters (of) your maternal aunts who emigrated with you, and a woman believing if she gives herself to the Prophet if wishes the Prophet to marry her - only for you, excluding the believers. Certainly, We know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and whom they rightfully possess, that not should be on you any discomfort. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful
Quran 33:50

Hadith and sirah

Muhammad

Muhammad married his cousin Zaynab bint Jahsh who, in addition to being the daughter of Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib (a sister of Muhammad's father), was also the former wife of his adopted son, Zayd ibn Harith. The marriage proved immensely controversial - not because Zaynab and Muhammad were cousins (cousin marriages being fairly common throughout much of the ancient world), but because Zaynab had been previously been married to Muhammad's adopted son. The controversy was of such scale that Muhammad ultimately produced revelation in the Quran addressing the matter, absolving him of any proposed guilt.

And when you said to the one, Allah bestowed favor on him and you bestowed favor on him, "Keep to yourself your wife and fear Allah." But you concealed within yourself what Allah (was to) disclose. And you fear the people, while Allah has more right that you (should) fear Him. So when ended Zaid from her necessary (formalities), We married her to you so that not there be on the believers any discomfort concerning the wives (of) their adopted sons when they have ended from them necessary (formalities). And is (the) Command (of) Allah accomplished.
Quran 33:37

According to Ibn Sa'd, after Zaynab's marriage to Zayd, Muhammad went to visit him, but instead encountered a hastily clad Zaynab. Though he did not enter the house, the sight of her pleased him. Tabari states that Zaynab was only wearing a single slip and that the wind pushed away a curtain when Muhammad entered, revealing her 'uncovered'. Thereafter, Zayd no longer found her attractive and thought of proposing divorce, but Muhammad told him to keep her. Eventually, however, Zayd did divorce her. After this, Muhammad and Zaynab were wed.[6]

Ali

In addition to marrying a first cousin himself, Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his first cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who would later become the fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph of Islam.

Umar

The second Rightly-Guided Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl.[7][8]

In the Islamic world today

The British geneticist, Professor Steve Jones, giving The John Maddox Lecture at the 2011 Hay Festival had stated in relation to inbreeding in the Islamic world, "It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually [genetically] closer than marrying your cousin."[9]

Pakistan

Cousin marriage has been common in Pakistan for generations. According to professor Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen from South Danish University, the current rate is about 70%.[10]

Pakistani emigrants

A BBC report on Pakistanis in the United Kingdom finds that 55% of them marry a first cousin. Many of the children of such consanguine marriages themselves marry cousins. The report states that these children born from repeated generations of first-cousin marriages are 13 times more likely than the general population to suffer from genetic disorders. Nearly one in ten of the children born of these marriages in Birmingham either dies in infancy or develops a serious disability. The BBC report also states that Pakistani-Britons, who account for some 3% of all births in the UK, produce "just under a third" of all British children with genetic illnesses.[11]

Multiple scientific studies show that the mean (average) perinatal mortality in the Pakistani community of 15.7 per thousand significantly exceeds that of the indigenous population and all other ethnic groups in Britain. Congenital anomalies also account for 41 percent of all British Pakistani infant deaths.[12][13][14][15]

Turkey

In Turkey the percentage of total marriages that are contracted between cousins is between 25-30 percent.[16]

Arab nations

Statistical research on Arab countries shows that up to 34% of all marriages in Algiers are consanguine (blood related), 46% in Bahrain, 33% in Egypt, 80% in Nubia (southern Egypt), 60% in Iraq, 64% in Jordan, 64% in Kuwait, 42% in Lebanon, 48% in Libya, 47% in Mauritania, 54% in Qatar, 67% in Saudi Arabia, 63% in Sudan, 40% in Syria, 39% in Tunisia, 54% in the United Arabic Emirates and 45% in Yemen.[17][18]

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Goody, Marriage and the Family in Europe
  2. ↑ Bittles, Alan H.; et al. (10 May 1991). "Reproductive Behavior and Health in Consanguineous Marriages". Science. 252 (5007): 789–794. doi:10.1126/science.2028254. PMID 2028254, p. 790
  3. ↑ Bittles, A.H. (May 2001). "A Background Background Summary of Consaguineous marriage" (PDF). consang.net consang.net. Retrieved 19 January 2010. citing Bittles, A.H.; Neel, J.V. (1994). "The costs of human inbreeding and their implications for variation at the DNA level". Nature Genetics. 8 (2): 117–121
  4. ↑ "The Surprising Truth About Cousins and Marriage". 14 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Paul, Diane B.; Spencer, Hamish G. (23 December 2008). ""It's Ok, We're Not Cousins by Blood": The Cousin Marriage Controversy in Historical Perspective". PLOS Biology. 6 (12): 2627–30. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060320. PMC 2605922. PMID 19108607.
  6. ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:72; Al-Tabari, Vol. 8, p. 4; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, p. 180; cf. Guillaume/Ishaq 3; Maududi (1967), Tafhimul Quran, "Al Ahzab"
  7. ↑ History of the Prophets and Kings 4/ 199 by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
  8. ↑ al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah 6/352 by ibn Kathir
  9. ↑ Jonathan Wynne-Jones - Hay Festival 2011: Professor risks political storm over Muslim 'inbreeding’ - The Telegraph, May 29, 2011
  10. ↑ Flere dødfødsler blandt indvandrere (Danish language) - fpn.dk,February 27, 2009
  11. ↑ Justin Rowlatt - The risks of cousin marriage – BBC News, November 15, 2005
  12. ↑ Alan H. Bittles - The Role and Significance of Consanguinity as a Demographic Variable - JSTOR
  13. ↑ Polygamist community faces genetic disorder – China Daily, June 15, 2007
  14. ↑ John Dougherty - Forbidden Fruit – Phoenix New Times, December 29, 2005
  15. ↑ A. H. Bittles and M. L. Black - Consanguinity, human evolution, and complex diseases – PNAS, June 25, 2009
  16. ↑ More stillbirths among immigrants - Jyllands-Posten, February 27, 2009
  17. ↑ Consanguinity and reproductive health among Arabs - Tadmouri et al. Reproductive Health 2009 6:17
  18. ↑ Muslim Inbreeding: Impacts on intelligence, sanity, health and society - Nicolai Sennels - EuropeNews, August 9, 2010
Retrieved from "http://wikiislamica.net/index.php?title=Cousin_Marriage_in_Islamic_Law&oldid=136054"